A Songwriter's Nightmare
by loveinshadesofwrong
Summary: Bella is a songwriter, and none of the Cullens knew—until now. She sings for all of them, and Edward discovers his fiancée's incredible talent. They're all up for a weekend of bonding and singing along to Bella's catchy break-up songs. Set before Breaking Dawn.
1. All Too Well

A/N: Hello, hello! Welcome to this little piece of my imagination, though I seriously doubt anyone would actually read this

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, nor do I own the lyrics to Taylor Swift's amazing song, All Too Well. This was written only for the sole purpose of amusing myself and anyone else who might find this interesting.**

Well, see ya at the bottom!

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Chapter 1: All Too Well

I opened the front door, finding the house empty. Edward told me at school earlier that they were all going hunting and that I could come straight here for Alice's sleepover, so she and I could go over details about the wedding. I wasn't too keen on spending my weekend obsessing over every little bit and piece of the grandiose event, because really all I was after was me and Edward's vows to each other. I was perfectly fine with Alice taking care of everything, but she tells me to just go along with it. Anyway, I get to spend time with the family this way, so it was fine with me.

I put my backpack down on the couch, looking around the living room for something to do. I didn't really want to watch TV or mess around with Emmett's video games. My eyes landed on the piano, wondering if they would manage to get home before I finished one song. I wrote a song a few months ago, and I'd been dying to try the notes I came up with on an actual piano. I was pretty proud of it. I think it's the best song I've ever written.

I eyed the piano, wondering if I could pull it off. I hadn't played in so long… I was probably rusty. Wouldn't hurt to try, right?

I sat down on the piano bench and let out a puff of air. _Just one song._ I pressed down on the keys, testing out a few notes. Once I felt acquainted with the instrument, I started to sing. I've memorized the song by heart over all the time I'd wanted so badly to try it out, and the words flowed out with no effort.

I lost myself in the song and in the emotion the lyrics conveyed, not paying attention to the world around me. Just as I was finishing the second verse, I looked up and saw the whole lot of them staring at me. Emmett's jaw was dropped open, Alice looked excited, Rosalie had her arms crossed but didn't look hostile, Jasper had a million emotions in his eyes, and Edward… I couldn't read Edward's face. Ugh. Of course. Alice probably saw me deciding this. I almost stopped singing and lost my rhythm, but Alice shook her head and told me to keep going. So I kept going.

**You tell me 'bout your past, thinking your future was me**

I didn't think about the eyes watching me but instead of the lyrics I was singing and the things I should be feeling while singing the song. I closed my eyes and just sang and felt.

**And I know it's long gone  
And there was nothing else I could do  
And I forget about you long enough  
To forget why I needed to**

I looked right at Edward, because this song was for him, and I wanted him to know everything I've never said to him.

'**Cause there we are again in the middle of the night  
We dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light  
Down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well, yeah**

**Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much  
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up  
Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well**

I pressed down on the keys, feeling everything. I didn't even feel them looking at me anymore.

**Hey, you call me up again just to break me like a promise  
So casually cruel in the name of being honest  
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here  
'Cause I remember it all, all, all... too well**

I looked at Edward again, and I knew he saw everything in my eyes. He may not have been able to read my mind, but here I was, with all my thoughts and all my emotions.

**Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it  
I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it  
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own  
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone**

**But you keep my old scarf from that very first week  
'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me  
You can't get rid of it 'cause you remember it all too well, yeah**

Finally, finally, I saw in his face what he was feeling, and it was every emotion I felt reflected back at me.

'**Cause there we are again, when I loved you so  
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known  
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well**

**Wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all  
Down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all  
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well**

I finished with the final notes and faced them again. They were all quiet. I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there. Edward broke the silence first.

"Love, why didn't you tell me you could play?" he asked. He sat on the bench beside me, holding my hand.

I let out a breath through my nose and laughed lightly. "I hadn't played in so long. That was probably horrible. My grandmother taught me when I was a kid, and I haven't practiced for God knows how long. I'm glad I remember, though."

"Well, you should've told me. We could've practiced together," he told me.

"Oh, come on. You know I wouldn't be able to keep up with you," I said.

"No, that was amazing, Bella. Did you write that song? Do you write a lot?"

"Um, yeah. It was my song. Did you like it?" I asked reluctantly.

"You're an amazing songwriter, Bella. I can't believe I didn't know!" he said. "You left your guitar here yesterday, right?"

I had left it here yesterday. But he didn't actually expect me to sing for him, right? Oh God.

He probably saw in my expression that I didn't like where his mind was going and spoke again. "Love, please? You know I love hearing you sing."

Yes, I knew. He had heard me sing before, and he listened intently every time, even if the songs I sang were obnoxiously pop.

Alice cut in with her eager voice. "Yeah, Bella! It'll be fun! Please! Esme and Carlisle will be home soon and we'll all listen! Oh, this is gonna be so wonderful!"

What? What were they trying to do to me? Esme and Carlisle? All of them? Oh no.

"No, no, no! Please, Alice, don't do this to me. I haven't ever played my songs in front of anyone before, and I'm a horrible singer, you don't wanna hear, I promise!" I protested desperately, my voice alarmed. But of course, this was Alice Cullen.

"Oh, come on, Bella. You and I both know you're not a horrible singer, and we want to hear your songs! It'll be fun!" she smiled widely.

I thought about it, wondering if I could do this. I saw Edward's eager face, along with Alice's. The wave of confidence and encouragement Jasper sent me did the trick.

"Okay," I bit my lip, agreeing reluctantly. I did want to see what Edward would think about all that I wrote for him.

She clapped her hands and squealed. "Yay! Carlisle's shift will be over soon, and Esme will be back from shopping in seven minutes." She clapped again. "This is perfect!"

I slumped in my seat, awaiting my impending doom.

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A/N: Wow, you're still reading? If you are, tell me what you thought!

Future chapters will all be Bella singing Taylor Swift's songs. So tell me which songs you wanna see being sung!

Thanks for reading!


	2. Starlight

A/N: Heyyyyy. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Real life was, understatedly, busy. I hope you have fun with this one. An anonymous reviewer wanted to see Starlight, so here it is. You'll also know what the next song is at the end of the chapter. ;)

**Disclaimer: My last name is neither Meyer or Swift, and so that means I do not own Twilight, nor do I own the lyrics to Taylor's "Starlight." This was written only for the sole purpose of amusing myself and anyone else who might find this interesting.**

I hope Ethel and Bobby don't mind that I'm borrowing their song… well, Bella is. Teehee.

Also, I recommend that you have the song playing as you read because all the lyrics are included. There are only some interjecting lines that wouldn't interrupt the flow of the song too much.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Starlight

"Alice, are you really gonna make me do this? Please don't," I begged. Carlisle's Mercedes was pulling into the drive, and I realized just what I agreed to. No one had ever heard my songs before. Some of them were embarrassing. My voice was horrible. I didn't want any of the Cullens watch me make a fool of myself!

"Oh, Bella. Come on. Don't be shy, it's just us!" Emmett said, cheerful as always.

"Yeah, Bella. It's gonna be fine. You're going to have fun! We all are," Alice said, trying to persuade me. Just then, Carlisle came into the living room. Esme arrived earlier, exactly at the time Alice said she would come.

"Hello, kids. What's going on?" Carlisle asked.

"All of us apparently underestimated Bella's sneaking skills. She's a musical genius. We caught her rocking it on Eddie's piano," Emmett grinned.

"We're trying to persuade her to sing for all of us, but her stubborn bum won't budge!" Alice huffed.

"Hmm," Carlisle hummed. "Sounds interesting. Are you up for it, Bella?"

I bit my lip. As a last resort, I tried again to dissuade them and said cheerfully, "But me and Alice have to plan the wedding! Right, Alice? You told me it's fun and that I should be more involved—well, let's go!"

They all snickered at my moot attempt and knew that I didn't really want to exhaust myself on details about the wedding. I was perfectly fine with letting Alice take care of everything, and I knew that she could handle it all just fine.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Bella. We both know you'd rather let me handle everything about the wedding. I'm almost finished with all the details anyway, just waiting for final confirmations about deliveries and finalizing what the invitations are gonna look like, so you're singing for us!"

"You're so pushy," I muttered, knowing she'll hear me.

She narrowed her eyes mockingly. "What was that?"

"Nothing," I smiled innocently. "And yes, okay, fine, I'll sing! Where's my guitar?"

She squealed and clapped again as Edward flew up the stairs to get my guitar from his room. Oh, as if she hadn't seen me giving in. She knew I was powerless against them.

Edward returned to the living room, my guitar in hand.

"So, is there somewhere you write your songs or are they all just in your head?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. It's in this notebook that you've noticed a few times," I told him.

"The one you always refused to show me?"

I nodded, smiling wryly. "That's the one."

I went over to my bag to get it and handed it to him. He was flipping through the pages, examining each page closely.

Meanwhile, Emmett was dragging the piano bench sideways so that it faced away from the piano and was facing the couches, where the rest of the Cullens were positioned, waiting silently.

"Okay, Bella, let's get this party started!" he said excitedly. "Can I pick what song you sing first?"

I nodded and Edward handed him the notebook. I sat on the bench with my guitar perched on my lap, waiting for Emmett to pick a song. His brow was furrowed as he sat next to Rosalie, looking at each title closely. Then, a particular title apparently caught his eye, and his eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Sing Stupid Boy!" he grinned. "It sounds funny."

I grimaced. "Can we please start off with something a bit more cheery?" That song wasn't exactly complimentary to Edward.

He shrugged. "Okay, then. How about Starlight?"

"Tell us what it's about first," Edward said.

"Uh, I wrote Starlight about my grandparents, actually. I saw a picture of them dancing at this party, and I just thought that they looked like they were having the time of their lives, so I got to writing this song. I think the picture's somewhere inside that notebook," I said.

Emmett found the black and white photo, showing it to everyone. He turned it over then read the writing on the back aloud.

_Marie and Robert, 17 years old, Summer 1945._

"Aww, that's so sweet," Alice commented.

"Now on with the song!" Emmett cheered. And so I sang.

**I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune!"**

**It was the best night, never would forget how we moved**

**The whole place was dressed to the nines,**

**And we were dancing, dancing**

**Like we're made of starlight**

**Like we're made of starlight**

"Why starlight? Why not sunlight or moonlight or moonshine or sunshine?" Emmett asked. "You got something against the sun and moon, Bells?"

"You're so funny, Emmett," Rosalie deadpanned, rolling her eyes. Bella just smiled and continued with the song.

**I met Bobby on the boardwalk, summer of '45**

**Picked me up late one night at the window,**

**We were 17 and crazy, running wild, wild**

**Can't remember what song it was playing when we walked in**

**The night we snuck into a yacht club party**

**Pretending to be a duchess and a prince**

**And I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune!"**

**It was the best night, never would forget how we moved**

**The whole place was dressed to the nines,**

**And we were dancing, dancing**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

"Man, it sounds like they were having so much fun," Alice said as if she wanted to have experienced partying like that, too.

**He said, "Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change.**

**You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way."**

**He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me,**

**"Don't you see the starlight, starlight?**

**Don't you dream impossible things?"**

"Your grandfather sounds like a great man, Bella. Was he really like this?" Esme asked.

"Yeah. He was a good man. Everyone always asked him for advice. He was the kind of adult that you could approach anytime and he'd always have some kind of story expressing his unending wisdom," I grinned, saying the last part playfully but serious about what I was saying.

**Like "Oh my, what a marvelous tune!"**

**It was the best night, never would forget how we moved**

**The whole place was dressed to the nines,**

**And we were dancing, dancing**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

**Ooh ooh he's talking crazy**

**Ooh ooh dancing with me**

**Ooh ooh we could get married**

**Have ten kids and teach them how to dream**

Emmett burst out laughing. "Did they really have ten kids?"

I smiled in return, trying not to laugh as I kept playing and shook my head.

**Oh my, what a marvelous tune**

**It was the best night, never would forget how we moved**

**The whole place was dressed to the nines,**

**And we were dancing, dancing**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

**Like we're made of starlight, starlight**

**Like we dream impossible dreams**

**Like starlight, starlight**

**Like we dream impossible dreams**

**Don't you see the starlight, starlight?**

**Don't you dream impossible things?**

Cheers erupted from all of them as I finished, so of course I blushed.

"You are an amazing songwriter, Bella. It's a shame you keep it all buried," Carlisle smiled, and I blushed even more.

"Yes, but not anymore. We've got time. We'll spend that time listening to everything you've got in that little notebook of yours," Edward grinned.

"Okay, who wants to pick the next song?" Emmett held up the notebook.

"Me!" Alice exclaimed, snatching the notebook from Emmett's grasp.

She didn't take long and said that she wanted to hear You Belong With Me.

That wasn't too bad.

"What's it about?" Jasper asked. "Sounds interesting."

"Well, it's not that interesting…"

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A/N: Well, that's it. Let me know if you liked it or not!

Someone requested You Belong With Me. Wonderful choice. If you have a particular song you want to see in a future chapter, just let me know!

Also, I found a post on Tumblr that had a photo of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy at a party, dancing. I'm not sure if it's the one Taylor wrote Starlight about, but if you wanna see I can link you to it.

See you next time!


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